The School of Life

To truly feel alive, Carl McClure has learned to live by his own terms after coming to the harsh realization that what you intend to do and what life has in store for you are sometimes two very different plans.

Carl would retire comfortably from 33 years as a teacher and a coach, but this loving husband and father felt like he could still be of service to the world and set his sights on real estate. This new career path would take him from a top independent company in the Columbia, SC area, to a franchise brand competitor; however, it was his passion for helping others that would lead him to EXIT Realty.

“EXIT turned my life around dramatically,” he admits. “It’s a wonderful, wonderful company and the sponsorship part of it is second-to-none. It takes care of you now, it takes care of your family, it takes care of you and your family after you retire, and it takes care of your family if something ever happens to you.”

These sentiments were put to the ultimate test after a series of unfortunate events that unfolded in Carl’s life, starting with the loss of his wife, Pat, after her five-year battle with cancer. What would happen next can only be described as miraculous, as Carl would go on to beat death, not once or twice, but four times in the 10 years following his loss.

He spent the year following Pat’s death severely grieving in what he calls “a state of oblivion,” only to be diagnosed with prostate cancer a couple of years later. He survived, but not before it metastasized and spread to his throat, which required a feeding tube port in his chest. When the tube was finally removed and he was given the all clear to eat normally again, he would come the closest to death when he was found to have gangrene of the gallbladder. He lost 95 pounds through the entire ordeal.

When he finally recovered, his reclaimed health would take him on a journey to start a new life and find his future wife, Dianne. They held two separate wedding ceremonies, one in Maui where his son resides, and another with their friends and family in South Carolina. But just when Carl thought he was back on track, he would stare death in the face again, suffering a heart attack a few months later.

Through EXIT’s unique single-level residual Formula, Carl accumulated over $29,000 in sponsoring bonus for the 26 new members he introduced to EXIT. These bonuses are equivalent to 10% of each new member’s gross commissions, but are paid directly from EXIT’s Head Office, not the new member’s earnings. Like the music and insurance industries, these residuals are perpetual, continuing for as long as each new member stays with EXIT and generates sales, and convert into retirement benefits as well as beneficiary benefits as the sponsoring agent’s career evolves with EXIT.

“When I was recovering, I did very little real estate, very little sponsoring…my real estate kind of fell by the wayside, but yet this residual income allowed me to do pretty much what I wanted to do. During that time, I went to Hawaii five times, Europe, Jamaica, Dominican Republic; I wasn’t just sitting around, I was enjoying life,” he explains. “Whenever I talk to anybody, whether they want to be a REALTOR® or not, if they’re not happy with where they are, I tell them my story. [EXIT] appeals to young REALTORS®, non-REALTORS®, and those experienced REALTORS® who’re also getting ready to think about retiring and how, with other companies, their last closing could be their last paycheck.”

Despite his residual success, it was the mentoring aspect behind the company’s business model that appealed to the teacher within him, saying “I’m an old coach, and if one player on your team isn’t strong then the team itself isn’t strong. My philosophy is if I can help someone succeed, they go to the bank smiling, I go to the bank smiling and the EXIT franchise and family grow. If you don’t practice something, you’re not going to be successful at it. We all say practice makes perfect, but no, perfect practice makes you better.”

These days you’ll find Carl smiling, planning, and as feisty as ever. He aims to return to selling this year so he can get back to earning a 90/10 split as he did in his early days with EXIT. But his end game is ultimately to thoroughly enjoy life.

“I still have some goals,” he insists, “one of which is to buy a place in Hawaii and spend about three-to-four months a year over there. Another is to sponsor in at least two people. I’m on track now to probably introduce at least four this year and I’d like that number to be even higher because it’s like I said, I’m 72 and I want to continue working, but I want to travel some more because I’m not done playing yet.”